new sysinstall

[leimy2k at mac.com]

On Saturday, August 23, 2003, at 1:45 PM, Matthew Dillon wrote:

:I'm seeing this as a four stage system.
:
:1. Disk Editor (creates slices, and partitions)
:2. Distribution Selection
:3. Glorified FTP client
:4. Configuration Management System
:
:Basically we would take a bootable cd, with a fully operable dragonfly
:installation on it. fire off the disk editor, to create swap, and
:other partitions and slices. Figure out what we are supposed to 
install.
:Then either contact a ftp site with a distro on it, or fire up a local
:ftpd server, and download the distribution on to our new slices.
:The configuration Management system is the key to the whole thing.
:I will try to get my thoughts on it written down in a understandable
:fashion later this week.
:
:Robert Garrett

    I would like a two-stage process, where everything you list is in 
the
    second stage.  The biggest problem with any install occurs when 
you go
    through all the work of installing the system onto your disks, 
reboot,
    and... nothing happens.  The system doesn't boot or doesn't mount,
    which means you have to go through the entire process all over 
again.

    So the first thing I think an install should do is create a basic
    slice and partition for /, swap, and /usr, copy the CD into it, and
    reboot.  And the very first option should be, with appropriate 
sanity
    checks, a 'just do it and reboot' option.

	1. Shell prompt

	2. Reformat HD, install basic templates, and reboot before completing
	   the procedure.
	3. Scan network for templates, install or query for selection,
	   and reboot before completing the procedure.
    Once rebooted into the HD we can then proceed to do all the 
time-consuming
    installation without worrying about having to start over from 
scratch.



That is an interesting point but don't we already kind of have a 
running system when
we first boot a CD?  Doesn't the kernel on the CD already "work" if we 
make it to the
installer?  If so... what is the purpose of installing a really small 
installation to install
the full installation?

I think I am not 100% sold on this idea; not that I have to be or that 
my opinion is that
important but I would like to understand this situation better and how 
the proposed
solution actually helps solve the problem.  It seems I can still make a 
pretty bad
installation even if I install a smaller good one first.

Dave

					-Matt
					Matthew Dillon
					<dillon at xxxxxxxxxxxxx>